The 12 leer, stare, grunt and grab claims against O’Reilly

The Fox News payout to dismissed star Bill O’Reilly is estimated to be about $25 million – about a year’s pay under a new contract he signed only weeks ago.

O’Reilly was forced out after two decades amid claims by about a dozen women of sexual harassment. The complaints range from staring, leering and grunting to inappropriate comments, and, in the case of his ex-wife, choking.

He issued a statement denying he did anything wrong.

“Over the past 20 years at Fox News, I have been extremely proud to launch and lead one of the most successful news programs in history, which has consistently informed and entertained millions of Americans and significantly contributed to building Fox into the dominant news network in television,” he said. “It is tremendously disheartening that we part ways due to completely unfounded claims. But that is the unfortunate reality many of us in the public eye must live with today. I will always look back on my time at Fox with great pride in the unprecedented success we achieved and with my deepest gratitude to all my dedicated viewers. I wish only the best for Fox News Channel.”

In 2002, O’Reilly “stormed into the Fox newsroom and screamed at a young producer,” Rachel Witlieb Bernstein, who, not long after, “left the network with a payout.”

In 2004, O’Reilly, was sued for sexual harassment by 33-year-old Andrea Mackris, who formerly worked on “The O’Reilly Factor.” The New York Times said Mackris recorded some explicit conversations with O’Reilly, and cost O’Reilly and/or Fox about Click to see the original article